Unjust Deportation

Published: December 12, 2005

To the Editor:

The federal government is contemplating the possibility of deporting Sami al-Arian, now that the government has failed to obtain convictions on any of the 51 criminal counts for which he stood trial (''Professor in Terror Case May Face Deportation,'' news article, Dec. 8). That this second act is even possible is yet another illustration of how the biggest casualty of 9/11 was the Constitution.

Because a deportation proceeding is not a criminal prosecution, deporting Mr. Arian would not literally violate the double jeopardy clause of the Fifth Amendment, which prevents the government from having more than one chance to convict someone for the same alleged crime. It is equally clear, however, that the government's threatened action violates the spirit of this very clause.

Sending someone who has lived lawfully in America for decades to a country where he has never lived may now be legal, but it is still cruel, morally reprehensible and disrespectful of the ''not guilty'' verdict returned by a jury of American citizens.